The Road Taken
by Jessilina
Summary: Sam is a 16 year old single father, what's a boy to do? This is a collection of short stories marking important moments in the Winchesters lives.
1. Chapter 1

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

AN: This story is an AU. It may or may not continue depending on the response. I was considering just doing short stories of important moments in their lives but it's up to you. Let me know what you all think. Thanks.

At 16 years old Sam Winchesters stress levels were through the roof. All he ever wanted was to be normal but that obviously wasn't in the cards for him. Along with the difficulties that every teenager encountered; school, homework, dating, fitting in and over baring parents he had to deal with moving, training and hunting. Not to mention that other thing; the big thing. Well the only thing that was big on it at the moment was its mouth. It's big loud mouth. It obviously didn't care that Sam was nursing a headache and trying to study for mid-terms OR the fact that it was currently 1:30 in the morning. He sat at the small desk in the corner of the small bedroom that he and Dean shared, trying to get some studying done but it was proving to be a very difficult task. He figured that after living with John and Dean for so long he could study through anything but this was just too damn much.

He got up from his desk and walked into the dirty kitchen slamming his bedroom door behind him. He stomped into the room to find Dean sitting hunched over a stack of books with a few plates and cups scattered around him, he was doing research for their fathers next job. John was at a pool hall on the other side of town trying to make some extra cash. Dean was holding a coffee mug in one hand and his other was rocking a small blonde sitting in a car seat at his feet. The baby was the source of all of the current noise.

"Damn it Dean! Shut that thing up! I just can't take it anymore." Sam screamed over the wailing. Dean looked up sharply, he had dark circles under his eyes and exhaustion was written all of his face.

"Excuse me?" Dean replied with venom in his voice.

"Make it stop. I can't deal with it anymore. It's too fucking loud in here, make that thing shut up." Sam reached out a hand and swiped it across the table; a glass went flying and landed on the other side of the room with a loud shatter. The noise only made the baby cry even harder.

"First of all Sammy the baby's name is Lily…Not thing or it or her or anything else. Learn it. Second of all she is not MY responsibility…She's yours! You brought her into this world so why don't you take care of her…for once." Dean was at his wits end. Sam's daughter was 6 months old and Dean was the only one to ever take care of her. Sam went to school and Dean watched her during the day, after he came home from school he ignored her and if Dean had to leave the house he brought Lily with him. In 6 months Sam had only changed 2 diapers and held her a hand full of times. Dean was the one to feed her, bathe her and stay up with her at night and he was exhausted. He could feel his blood boiling when Sam yelled and knew he had to get out of there. Dean pulled on his jacket and headed for the front door. "You need to stop acting like a spoiled brat."

"Wait! Where are you going?!?! You can't just leave it here." The baby was still wailing and Sam panicked at the thought of being alone with her. Dean took one more glance at his niece and walked out the front door shutting it quietly behind him.

Sam looked at the door shocked that his brother had actually left. He looked from the door to the baby and back again twice before stepping over to the car seat and sitting in Deans now empty chair. She was red in the face from all of the screaming. Sam couldn't remember ever hearing noise like that coming from her in the 6 months that she had been alive. He didn't know much about her but he did know that she had been sick for the past week which was probably why she was in such a foul mood. Her fever was almost completely gone but she still had a heart wrenching cough. Every time she coughed it sounded like a seal was barking.

Sam peered over and took a closer look at the child. Green eyes, light blonde hair and a button nose. A cute kid by most standards not that he had much of a base of comparison. She was still screaming and Sam felt his anxiety jump. He ran his hands through his hair and pulled at the ends. He suckered in and picked her up; holding her awkwardly over his shoulder.

" Just be quiet. I don't know what you want. I need you to stop. Please stop. Please." Only that didn't help. Sam walked back and forth while patting her back, something he had seen his brother do so many times before. Only it wasn't working for him. He cradled her in his arms, checked her diaper, even tried to feed her but she kept wailing. All of the patience that Sam had left was gone. He was anxious and angry….very angry. He held her out in front of him and yelled.

"Shut the hell up! I can't take it anymore! Just shut the fuck up!" Sam didn't notice that every time he yelled his arms were involuntarily shaking the baby. The moment he realized that he had given her a slight jerk he felt sick to his stomach. In health class they learned how fragile babies actually were. They saw a demonstration of an egg in a glass jar-shaken baby syndrome. She was still crying so Sam put her into the portable crib, he swiped the back of his hands over his eyes to get rid of the frustrated moisture that had slipped out. He whispered sorry and slipped out the front door.

Sam leaned heavily against the metal railing on the front porch. He could hardly hear the baby with the door shut but knew that she was still screaming. Sam breathed in and out trying to calm down before going back inside for round two.

He knew that no damage had been caused by the light shake but he was mostly just surprised that he lost control so quickly. He had no idea how Dean did it.

Now that Dean was over 18 it was easier for their family to stay in one place longer without CPS sniffing around. Dean, as a legal adult, could be responsible for his younger brother. They stayed in Smyrna, GA long enough for Sam to get his girlfriend pregnant. After the first few weeks he told John and Dean about the accident and its consequences, he also informed them that they were keeping the baby. Rachel, the baby's mother had been the one to convince Sam to keep the child but as her due date grew closer she changed her mind and after giving birth legally signed all of her parental rights of the child over to Sam.

Aside from wanting to keep the child Sam wanted nothing to do with her.

After standing outside for a few moments Sam felt himself relax and he walked back into the apartment. Lily was still in the crib crying. Her throat sounded raw and painful, Sam picked her up and brought her into their cramped bathroom and shut the door behind him. He opened the shower curtain and turned the hot water on full blast instantly steaming the confined space.

He cradled her around his chest and swung his hips back and forth while patting a hand on her back to help clear up the congestion, he remembered his brother doing this for him years earlier when he had bronchitis. It only took a few minutes for her to settle down and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She was finally calm and in the process of falling asleep so he leaned his back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. The shower was still running and he was sweating but he only cared that she was asleep.

Sam sat on the bathroom thinking about how crazy this night had been when he heard the bathroom door click open. He looked up expecting Dean but was surprised to find John slip inside. He left the door open and turned off the shower. Sam noticed that John looked worse for the wear; it had been a long night for everyone.

Sam shifted his daughter so she was facing John, waiting to hand her off but his father surprised him by sliding down the wall next to him. Sam pulled the baby back into his chest and she squirmed a moment before settling back into him. He rested his own head against his father's shoulder. They sat in silence for a few moments with John stroking a hand lightly over Sam's head while gazing at his granddaughter.

"What happened?" John whispered quietly.

"I made a mistake, dad. I can't do this. I don't know what I was thinking. I can't be a dad." His voice was so defeated John worried about his boy. He feared this was all too much for him.

"Tell me what happened, son."

Sam recapped the events that had transpired that evening. He only questioned Sam's decision to bring her into the bathroom. How did his son know that was a good idea?

"She was just coughing so badly. It helped. She stopped crying a little while ago. "

"You did good Sammy." His father pulled his shoulder and hugged him tightly. Sam actually laughed out loud.

"I was so mad, I could have killed her. I've ruined everything. I keep pulling everyone apart. I've got a baby that I can't take care of; you have to work alone because Dean is too busy looking after her. She's supposed to be my responsibility but I can't do this. Dad, I have to give her back." He said with his voice cracking.

"Give her back to who Sam?"

"I don't know. Rachel."

"You can't do that Sam. Rachel gave her up. She doesn't have the right to take care of her, legally. You have to either give her up for adoption or keep her. This isn't something that you should jump into. You need to think about this long and hard. It's the biggest decision that you'll ever have to make." John knew that Sam needed to take responsibility and this was the time to make that decision.

"Someone will adopt her?" He said with tears falling down his cheeks. He kept looking from his daughter to his father.

"Maybe. She'll become a ward of the state. She'll either get adopted or go to live in foster care until she's 18. Sam, if you decide to give her up then you will never see her again. Are you prepared for that? Would you be able to live with that decision for the rest of your life?" Sam thought about it for a moment. Lily let out a big yawn and Sam smiled down at her.

"She looks like you. Same dimples." John said.

"I never meant to do this to us. I never thought about the consequences."

"Everybody makes mistakes. You just have to live with the consequences for the rest of your life. But this could be the best mistake you ever made in your life. I love you boys more than anything but it was never easy, especially doing it alone after your mother died. But it was worth it."

"Did you ever think about giving us away? Or letting the state take us away?"

"Nope. There were times when they wanted to take you because they didn't believe that I was a good father but I would never let them. I love you boys more than anything. You guys are my world. Sam, you may not realize this yet but your children are the most important things in the world and I think that if you gave it a try. An honest to god hard try that you would understand that. You might still be a teenager but I think you can do this."

At that moment they both turned their heads when they heard the front door open and close again. Dean was home. He called out to Sam feeling guilty about leaving him at the worst moment possible.

"We're in here!" John called out from the bathroom floor. When Dean walked in he raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. John shook his head indicating not to ask so instead he leaned down to pick up the baby still asleep in her fathers' arms.

"Here Sammy. I'll put her to bed."

Sam looked down and kissed his baby's forehead and smiled up at his dad. "That's ok. I'll put her to bed tonight."

*The End*


	2. Chapter 2

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

AN: Because of all of the positive reviews I've decided to continue this story. It will mostly contain one shot looks into the special moments of their lives. I hope you guys continue reading and enjoying.

Thank you for all of the reviews they really keep me inspired so please keep doing it! Also, I want to give a special thanks to everyone that warned me about an imposter story that someone posted with the same title and summary as this series.

Sam ran the short distance from school home once the last bell rang. He dropped his backpack at the front door are called out for Dean.

"Hey! Dean! I'm home! Where are you guys?" Sam took a moment to catch his brother and heard Dean call out to him from the bathroom.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Dean looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow. He thought it was fairly obvious.

"I'm giving Lily a bath. What does it look like I'm doing?" Dean was leaned over the edge of the bathtub with Lily sitting in a plastic seat in a few inches of water. She was bent over so her chubby fingers could splash in the warm water. She giggled when her hand slapped the water hard enough to wet Dean's shirt. Her uncle feigned anger.

"What did you do? Hey! Did you get me all wet? Yeah and you think that's funny, don't cha? Yeah? How about this?" He took a half full cup of water and dumped it over her shoulders to wash off the last trails of soap. She laughed. Sam kneeled down next to his brother and began running his hands through the water. He had never given her a bath before though he had seen Dean doing it a few times. Dean knew that his baby brother was trying to be a better father and thought this would be a great opportunity to step up to the plate.

"You wanna take over?" Dean suggested. Sam leaned back against his heels and shook his head.

"No. I can't. I don't know how."

Dean laughed. "Dude, You have bathed yourself before right?" He nudged Sam's shoulder with his own and got up with cracking knees. "You can do it little brother. Show no fear. Kids can smell it a mile away."

Sam hesitantly moved into Deans spot and looked at his daughter. She was smiling at him.

"Hey." He said awkwardly. Dean swatted him on the back of his head and walked out of the room.

"Just remember. No fear!" He called with his voice trailing down the hall. Lily looked at the door and noticed that Dean was gone. Sam saw her eyes widen and her bottom lip began to quiver and knew that she was about to start crying. He could deal with anything but that.

"Oh, no no no. Don't do that." He jammed his hand into the tub getting his long sleeve shirt wet in the process to find a toy to distract her. He clasped his hands around the first object that he felt ….Lily yelped when Sam accidentally grabbed her foot and began kicking. This brought about another round of kicking and giggling. Sam let out a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one. You don't have to cry every time he leaves ya know? He's only going into the other room. I'm here." Lily was unfazed. "Alright look kiddo. I'm your dad and that kinda scares the hell out of me so I need you to like me. I think that would make this a lot easier. If I promise to be around more and you promise not to cry every time I come in the room I think we can make this work. Alright? And if you really decide that you want to hate me then at least wait until you're older. Like a teenager or something. I could deal with that. Ok?" He grabbed her big toe and she laughed and wiggled in her chair.

"Ok. Now that we've come to an understanding let's get you dried off." Sam lifted the rubber stopper in the drain and laid a dry towel on the bathroom floor. He carefully lifted her out of the seat like Dean had shown him, so that her legs wouldn't get trapped. He placed her on the towel and swaddled it tightly around her while she tried to touch his face. He kissed her hand and picked her up bringing her into his bedroom. Dean had already laid out a fresh diaper and clean clothes. Dean was now sitting on his own bed next to Sams and was pretending to read a car magazine but Sam knew he was keeping an eye out for them. He peered over the pages and watched as Sam set Lily on his bed, he held a hand lightly on her stomach so she wouldn't roll over; just like Dean had shown him.

"How'd it go?" Sam glanced over his shoulder at Dean

"Good. You were right. No fear." Sam had a cocky grin on his face. This wasn't so hard. He just had to lay down the law. The parent vs. child law.

"Yeah, you gotta be tough." Dean laughed knowingly. "Want me to finish dressing her and you can start on your homework?" Dean began moving closer.

"No, I need a break from school work." Sam began attempting to fasten the diaper around Lily's body but she was squirming and rolling so badly that he couldn't get it on properly. "Come on. Stop that. You need a diaper or else you'll pee all over my bed. Ugh." Dean sensed his brothers frustration growing and stepped in to take over. He easily slid the diaper into place and had Lily dressed in minutes. Sam growled.

"How do you do that? You're so much better at this then me." He fell back against Deans bed and threw an arm over his face. He felt like an idiot. He couldn't do the simplest thing for his baby without it ending badly.

"It's not so hard. You just have to get used to it. You're still new at this Sam, give it time." Dean placed Lily on her stomach on the mat on the floor. She rose up onto her arms and knees and bounced back and forth.

"Yeah, like you know so much." Sam scoffed. "You got a few kids out there that we don't know about?"

"Nope. Unlike you I understand what no glove no love means." Sam glared at his big brother. They'd had the same conversations quite a few times over the last few months. "Sam you were the same age as her when mom died. It wasn't easy on dad so I tried to help. I changed plenty of your diapers. It's not that big of a deal; nobody is the best parent on the first try. You just need to relax and then it won't seem so scary." Sam outright laughed at that. He had faced down Demons, Witches and Poltergeists but being a parent was by far the scariest thing he had ever done. Dean moved to the bed and leaned shoulder to shoulder with Sam watching Lily still bopping back and forth attempting to crawl. The brothers just watched for a few minutes.

"You're getting wise in your old age Dean."

"Curse you heathen. I'm not old. Now if anyone were old its dad. Dude he's a grandpa." Both boys erupted in a fit of laughter. Sam looked at the clock on the night stand and it read 4:00pm

"Hey Dean. Why were you giving her a bath in the middle of the afternoon?" Dean looked away.

"No reason. I just thought it would be nice to get her cleaned up for you. Sue me for being a good uncle. Next time if I were you I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Liar. What happened?" Sam pressed.

"Nothing."

"As her father I have a right to know." Sam gloated. Dean rolled his eyes. Sam pulled the 'dad' card at the stupidest times.

"Fine. We tried peas for lunch today for the first time and it didn't go very well. Most of it wound up in her hair and the little bit that did make it down her throat went south of the border really fast and leaked all over the place." Sam made a disgusted face and began laughing at Dean.

"Dude, you had to clean up pea poop." He roared with laughter and Dean shoved him hard enough to land him on the floor. Dean mimicked him.

"Well since you're her father next time you can do it." Sam stopped laughing and pushed Dean off the bed. The boys began wrestling on the floor next to Lily who was watching her father and uncle with emerald eyes. She wanted to join the fun. She moved one hand and then her knee, wiggled her butt and then moved her other hand. Both Winchester brothers looked up and watched her intently as she crawled for the first time. Right over to her family.

*The End*

AN (Part 2): I have a few stories already written but I'm getting stuck on new ideas. Please let me know if you have any requests and I will do my best to fill them. Be as specific as possible. Thanks!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

AN: This is a complete AU which will contain brief looks into the lives of the Winchester clan, including a teenaged Sam's daughter.

All mistakes on this are my own. I loved the idea for this short but couldn't get it exactly how I wanted it; I couldn't tweek it anymore without butchering the entire thing, so here it is…

John woke up when he heard the baby's cries filtering through the small house the family was currently renting. He had just gotten home from an 8 day hunting trip and had only managed to get 3 hours of sleep before he was woken up at 5am. He was exhausted. He couldn't manage to make it out of bed to see what was wrong but he heard footsteps indicating that someone else had taken care of it. He sighed in relief and relaxed back into his pillows for a second attempt at sleep. He tossed and turned for a few moments and then rolled over trying to get comfortable again but it was useless. Once he woke up he couldn't get back to sleep. He threw off the sheets and hung his legs over the side of the bed, feet just brushing the floor and rubbed his eyes. Lily was still crying though no longer hysterical and he could hear that either Sam or Dean had moved into the living room. He walked to his bedroom door and began opening it but stopped when he heard Sam hushing her quietly.

He hadn't had much of a chance to see Sam in action recently and leaned against the door jam to listen.

Sam had woken up when he heard Lily crying in her crib next to his bed. Their two bedroom rental was smaller than their last place and Lily's crib was usually placed in Johns room because he spent most of his time away. When John was in town the crib was moved into the room that he and Dean shared. It wasn't an issue because she usually slept through the night but on the off chance that she did wake up Sam kept the baby monitor close to not wake up his brother. Dean needed a full night sleep or he would be grouchy in the morning. He picked up Lily from her crib and brought her into the living room. He first stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a bottle out of the drying rack and mixed 8 ounces of formula, he checked her diaper and changed it quickly before sitting down on the couch. He had Lily sitting on his lap still whimpering but no longer crying. He tapped his leg and the motion had quieted his daughter, now she was looking at him thoughtfully.

All afternoon Sam had been upset and he thought Lily could sense it. She was past the point where she was waking up in the middle of the night. His foul mood had probably triggered her discomfort.

"I'm sorry baby." He said kissing her blonde peach fuzz head. He placed her bib around her neck before flipping her back and offering her the warm formula. She took it greedily and grasped a hand around the bottle tightly. Sam laughed to himself. "Hungry much?" She slurped half of the bottle quickly and Sam turned her around and burped her over his shoulder. She let out a few loud burps and he turned her back over and gave her the bottle once again noting that she had 5 ounces left. Sam looked at her face in detail. She looked mostly like him, same nose, dimples and eyes but her full lips and blonde hair all came from her mother.

"You look more like your mom everyday beautiful." She yawned and slurped more from the bottle. He wiped her mouth with the corner of the bib.

"My English teacher asked me about my mom today. She asked if my mom lived at home with us. I had to tell her that mom died a long time ago. I was a little younger then you when she died. I don't really remember her but Dean told me a lot of things. He told me that she was beautiful, that she smelled like lilacs. He always stops when he smells them; I don't even think he notices that he does it. He said that she loved music and always had wind chimes all over the house because she liked to make the wind sound safe. I wish that I could have gotten to know her. I wish that you could too." He let out a bitter chuckle.

"I almost started crying when Mrs. Stein was talking to me today. She said that it wasn't hard to spot a child without a mother; she kept saying that it wasn't hard to point out a child without that type of influence. I wasn't upset because my mom is dead but I got upset because I realized that you don't have a mother either." Lily was falling back asleep by now. Sam placed the bottle between his knees and turned her over to burp her again. Even half asleep she still released some gas and Sam cradled her again. Her eyes were drooping and he knew that she would be back to sleep momentarily but he wasn't done talking to her yet. "If there was one thing in the entire world I could change that would be it. I wish you could have a mom. If I could ask for one thing in this entire world I wouldn't ask for my mom back, I'd ask for yours." He said in a whisper. "I know how it feels to be different and I'm ok with that but I don't want that for you. I know I'm not the best dad but I would do anything for you and the one thing I can't do is bring your mom back." Sam sniffled to hold back his tears and kissed his sweet baby's nose.

Sam hadn't noticed that John was standing in his doorway the entire time. He jumped when he heard the wood floors creaking behind him and wiped his eyes quickly on his tee shirt. When he turned towards the noise he expected Dean but saw his father standing behind him. Sam knew that he had just gotten home and felt guilty for waking him up.

"I'm sorry dad. Did we wake you up?" He said while rocking Lily back and forth. John smiled sadly at his youngest son and shook his head. He moved over to Sam and slid onto the couch next to his boy and wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulder. Sam was resistant at first, not accustomed to John being this affectionate but relaxed into his father's chest.

"I heard Lily crying and got up." Sam bit his lip and glanced up at his father.

"Did you, uh, hear what we were talking about?" He'd hoped that John hadn't overheard their conversation; he hated showing any type of weakness in front of his father.

"Yeah, I did." He reached over and took Lily out of his sons arms and cradled her tightly against his own body, Sam automatically reached out for her out but stopped himself and let John hold his granddaughter.

"Sam, you can't blame yourself for what Rachel did." Sam immediately opened his mouth to fight back but one hard look from John shut him up quickly. "If you listen to one thing that I tell you let that be it, please. Rachel had a decision to make, the biggest decision she ever had to make in her entire life and she made the wrong choice. I don't blame her for making the decision that she did because she was 15 and scared out of her mind and she had no support from her family. I don't think you should blame her for making that decision either." Sam felt his blood boil instantly because he did blame her, she was the mother of his child and she should be here. "You weren't exactly keen on the idea of taking care of a baby either. What would have happened to her if Dean hadn't been here to take care of her? What would you have done in the same situation?"

"But I didn't do that. I didn't do that to her, I wouldn't leave her without a father. It's not fair." Sam's emotions were getting the best of him. "She should have a mother. She deserves a mother. It's just not fair that she doesn't." Sam took a deep breath in to calm himself. "I know how it feels and I wanted something better for her." Sam was hoping that John wouldn't be angry at his words. He didn't blame his loss on anyone, especially on his parents, but the bitterness remained.

"I know that it hurts, dude. But you have your entire life ahead of you. Her biological mother might not be in her life but I'm sure you'll find someone that will love her as her own. She will have a mother, one day. I believe that with all my heart." Sam looked at his father who smiled sadly back. John shrugged his shoulders with a half grin. "And look at it this way. Even if that doesn't happen she's got one hell of a dad."

"That's not true." Sam said.

"Yes it is, a 16 year old boy that's willing to give up everything to take care of a baby. That's a pretty courageous thing to do." John mussed his son's hair.

"You think so? I mean about her having a good mom one day?"

"I do. I also meant it when I said that she has a great dad."

"Thanks dad." Sam said with a yawn.

"You wanna go back to bed?" Sam checked his wrist watch and noticed the time.

"No, I've got a bunch of stuff to do." John looked skeptical.

"It's 5 o'clock in the morning. What's so important?"

"I have to take a shower, study a little more for my math test today, make Dean breakfast and get Lily dressed." He said with a laughing sigh.

"How about I make Dean breakfast and get her dressed and you can get ready for school?" Sam considered it for a moment but shook his head.

"No, I've got it. You can go back to bed." He took the baby out of his father's arms and retreated back to his bedroom. John stopped him half way back.

"Sammy." Sam turned abruptly. "If you want to talk about your mother then we can. I know that you probably have a lot of questions about her and you can ask me anything you want. All of this stuff would be so much easier if your mom were here. I'm sorry I'm not her." John hung his head; he wished he could be everything for his boys and now his granddaughter but knew that he would always fall short. He could never fill Mary's shoes. John felt his son patting his shoulders.

"It's ok; you're doing a good job with us. I guess you're not such a bad dad yourself."

*The End*

AN (Part 2): I have a few stories already written but I'm getting stuck on new ideas. Please let me know if you have any requests and I will do my best to fill them. Be as specific as possible. Thanks!!!


	4. Chapter 4

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

AN: I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter. This was by far the hardest chapter to write and after I finally finished it my blackberry (Which held the only complete copy) was stolen. I had to re-write from scratch and it was even harder the second time. After constant re-writes and editing and throwing in the towel about 10 times a close friend finished it off for me. I want to give a huge shout out and many thanks to Alana AKA Two Dollahs for believing in it.

It isn't my favorite chapter but I hope you enjoy it. I already have the next 3 chapters finished so they will be posted shortly.

It was a big moment in the lives of the small Winchester clan. The youngest was celebrating the big oh-one. Sam was excited when he woke up to realize that he had made it through the most difficult year he would probably ever face. His baby girl had blessed his life one year ago today. He stumbled out of bed at an extremely early hour and wondered over to her crib where she was rolling around on her back playing with her feet. She had managed to get her foot into her mouth when Sam playfully slapped it away. Both father and daughter's faces lit up when they saw one another every morning regardless of how tired he was or how much stress he was under he always had a smile for his favorite girl. He reached down and pulled her out of her crib. He nuzzled her face and smothered her with kisses.

"Good morning birthday girl. I love you." He cradles her in his arms and went into the living room to sit on the floor and play. Sam lay back onto the carpeted floor and Lily began playing with various toys until she found her favorite. Sam let out a loud oof when Lily slapped both of her hands on her stomach. He lifted her in the air over his head and they both laughed. His only wish was that John and Dean could be with them.

Their current job was taking longer then anticipated, the original weekend affair had bled into the next week. Birthdays were never celebrated with the small family with the exception of the normal birthday punches and a piece of cake or pie from where ever they were residing. Even so this was usually done by Dean instead of John. Truth be told Sam didn't mind that for himself but he wished they were there for his daughter.

Sam didn't have much planned for the day except that he was spending the entire day with Lily, who would be wearing the new shirt that Dean had gotten for her which read 'today's my birthday and my uncle got me this lousy tee shirt'

After breakfast Sam got himself and Lily dressed, packed a bag for her and loaded her into her stroller. They walked the three blocks to the bus stop and waited ten minutes for the bus to pick them up. Lily was in Sam's lap and fell asleep during the 30 minute ride. Once they reached their destination Sam was thrilled. He'd thought his hope of taking her to the aquarium was over when John and Dean hadn't returned in time but he found a bus route that would drop them off right outside. Once they arrived Sam woke up his daughter and together they ate the lunch that he's packed.

Lily had recently discovered how much she loved the water and would play in it as long as she could. She also discovered the creatures that lived in it. Her favorites were fish and 'big fissies' as she dubbed whales so he decided to take her to the aquarium for her birthday. Normally they wouldn't be able to afford the trip but Sam had saved money by writing papers for fellow classmates for a hefty fee. He had enough left over for a pretty great birthday gift.

All day Sam showered her with love and affection, he was glad he made it to this point in his life. Not many were convinced that Sam would make it through an entire year as a single teen parent and he proved them all wrong; he proved himself wrong when he wanted to give up.

The pair got back later than planned and Sam was glad he fed her on the way home. When he got back to the small apartment she was dead asleep. He changed her into pajamas and tucked her into bed. The cupcake and present would have to wait until tomorrow hopefully John and Dean would be back by then.

Sam was finishing the last of the dishes when he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He dried his hands on the towel and reached for the item that was making his butt tingle. Afraid that the other person would hang up he opened the phone without looking at the caller id. "Hello?" There was no answer so he repeated. "Hello?" He could hear breathing on the other end and he was growing annoyed that the other person was now occupying his time with nothing. "If you don't have anything to say then I'm going to hang up." He gave his first and only warning. He was about to hang up when a quiet, soft voice, came through.

"Sam?" She hesitated. Sam was silent, not really sure if he was recognizing the voice correctly. "Sam, are you there?" She asked.

Sam could hear the faint sound of music in the back ground. "Why are you calling, Rachel?" He voiced one of the first questions that now raced through his mind.

"I uh, I just wanted. Well, I wanted to see how you are; how our daughter is."

Sam could hear the soft sobs that she was trying to hold back. "You haven't cared this past year, why now?"

The music got louder, "I'll be right there." She yelled out and the music got quiet again. "Sorry about that."

"Where are you?" Sam asked.

"This kid Damon is throwing a party." She took a breath. "But I really did call to talk to you. It's her birthday today."

Sam knew her all too well and he figured out the reason that she had called. "Are you drunk?" He glared at the phone.

"No." She lied. She took a breath and tried to engage Sam in conversation again. "What is she like?"

Sam shook his head and sighed. "You said you didn't want anything to do her, or us, so just hang up and go back to your party." Sam was about to hang up but she called out for him.

"Wait." She waited for any sound that he was still on the phone. "Sam please don't hang up."

"What do want?" Sam was beginning to get annoyed.

"I've been thinking lately and well,"

"Spit it out Rachel."

"I'm sorry I made you take on all of the responsibility." Sam couldn't help but think maybe she had finally come around and wanted to have Sam and Lily in her life. "I had to make a decision and I thought that she would be better off with you."

"But we talked about this." Sam's tone began to soften. "We agreed that we would raise Lily together and be a family. I know it's hard, trust me I know, but we can do it; I know we can."

"Her name is Lily?" Sam didn't even realize that he had let her name slip out. He remembered then that he had never told her what he had named their baby. "You know, on our first date you picked me a Lily when we were walking home." He was surprised that she remembered. That was the exact moment he named his daughter after.

"She's beautiful Rachel. You should come see us, or we can come to visit you. She's so awesome, once you see her you won't be able to let her go. Maybe we can convince my dad to let us stay for awhile, so that you can get to know her and we could be a family like we wanted to. If your parents don't like it then you could move in with us." Sam had begun talking out of nervousness. He believed that maybe she did want to come back if she took the first step to call. Even though he hated her most of the time he also missed her, he missed his girlfriend and also the mother he suspected that she could be.

"Do you think she misses me?" Rachel asked, her sobs beginning to creep up in her throat, but she cleared her throat and pushed them back.

"Well, I'm not sure. I mean it's hard because she never really got to know you." Sam heard her begin to cry so he tried to make it better. "But she could; she will. I know you're parents would be mad for a while but they don't matter. We would have each other, and Lily would have both of her parents."

"You don't understand Sam; if I had gone with you then I would have lost everything. My parents have this whole plan for me and if I choose to go and to live with you then I lose them. Don't you get it? Either way I lose."

Sam now realized that Rachel was still just the selfish little girl that she had always been. His mind was going through so many thoughts and emotions that he couldn't focus. He couldn't believe that he had let her hurt him again so he silently swore that this would be the last time. "No Rachel," He spoke in a calm but stern tone, "you don't understand. Lily is the one that loses, but not anymore. I'm not going to let you hurt either one of us anymore."

"I was the one that got hurt, Sam," she cried, "I was the one that had to give you two up." She took a breath and sighed. "I'm sorry Sam, I didn't call to get into a fight or to make you think I wanted to come back. I just thought that I would call you and you could tell me about her." Sam was speechless. "I'm sorry." She said again before hanging up.

Sam felt an invisible slap across his face. He'd thought about the day he would talk to her again and it hadn't gone anything like this. He fingered the button before finally pressing down to redial. It rang twice before going to voicemail. He tried again a few minutes and the call went directly to voicemail. He didn't want to leave the conversation at that. His heart began to race with anxiety. His fingers frantically pressed the redial button and after getting voicemail continuously before jumping to his feet and launching his phone across the kitchen. It hit the clock hanging on the wall and both objects crashed to the floor and shattered. Sam took a few calming breaths and wiped the tears from his face. He went and assessed the damage. Dropping to one knee he saw that both the clock and phone had met an early demise. With shaking hands he fell against the wall and slammed the back of his head against the wall behind him.

He was angry that he let Rachel hurt him again. He was angry that she called to do just that. He sat in the same position brooding for what seemed like hours. It turned out he was as he was woken up with sun light glaring in his eyes and the front door closing. He was only mildly surprised to see his brother and father returning home.

They both tried to sneek in quietly but came to a halt upon finding Sam sitting on the kitchen floor surrounded by broken pieces of the phone and clock. He looked up at them and blinked the sleep out of his eyes.

"What happened in here?" Dean said putting his hand out to pull up his baby brother.

"You don't wanna know." Sam said rolling his eyes as he allowed himself to be pulled up. John was sorting through the duffle bags they'd brought in. Sam dropped into a kitchen chair and rested his forehead on the table, he still had the picture in his hand and Dean yanked it out with a bagel shuffled between his teeth.

"Hi you gat dat?" He removed the bagel and tried again. "Why do you have that?"

Sam debated for a minute. "Rachel called last night." That perked the interest of both Dean and John.

"What did she say?" Dean asked flipping another chair around and dropping into it, bagel forgotten. John, who had picked up the broom to clean up the mess stopped to look at his son.

"Nothing really. Nothing at all actually. I think she just wanted me to feel sorry for her." He said shaking his head. "I don't care."

"I think you do." John said holding the biggest part of the clock in his hands.

"I was mad, I thought she wanted to see us. Have another chance but then I realized that she was just being selfish. It was stupid, I shouldn't have gotten mad over it. "Sam thought back to the conversation he and John had not too long ago. He was better off without her. He knew that but it still hurt.

"I'm over it." He said pushing himself from the table. "I'm gunna get some sleep before she wakes up." He went into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Dean raised an eyebrow at his father.

"He got over that too fast. You think he's actually ok?" John shrugged his shoulders and deposited the parts into the garbage.

"I guess we'll find out."

And that they did. In the weeks to come Sam had been better then imagined. It seemed that he had finally accepted his life as a single father.

*One Week Later*

Rachel arrived home and checked the mailbox on her way in. She noticed an envelope that was addressed to her with no return address. It was an average size envelope but felt heavy. When she got to her bedroom she tore it open and a single photo fell out onto her bed. She immediately recognized Sam laying on a rundown couch, his head rested on one arm rest and his ankles were resting on the other. A baby was asleep on his stomach; he had an arm tucked tightly under her bottom to keep her safe. Both of their faces were turned towards the camera.

"She flipped the photo over and on the back was written 'Sam and Lily at 6 months'

She couldn't stop herself as she picked up the phone to call him and take everything back. She would go anywhere he was to see them. Rachel nearly stopped breathing when the call answered with an automated service.

'The number you are trying to reach has been discontinued. Please hang up and try your call again'

Rachel felt her heart break just a little more.

AN2: A special thanks to all reviewers! You guys keep me inspired.


	5. Chapter 5

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

AN: I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I'm not terribly thrilled with this chapter but I hope you enjoy it. The next chapter is already prepared and should be posted soon (Lily hits the terrible twos). Also, this chapter is unedited, all mistakes are mine!

Sam was leaning against the back of the park bench, dark sunglasses perched on his nose, trying to get some homework done as he watched his daughter playing in the sand box just a few feet away. Sam had just gotten out of school and it was a beautiful day so he went home and picked up Lily from Deans care and walked to the park a few blocks away.

There were a few other kids on the jungle gym but they were far older than his own daughter so playing in the sand box was a safer idea than taking the risk of her getting injured. At one and a half she was running and talking up a storm. For now she was content filling up her pail one shovel full at a time. Sam was working on an English essay on the book "Watership Down", he jumped when he heard a female voice shout behind him.

"Hey! Don't climb on that!" He looked up and saw two young boys climbing up the outside of a tunnel covered slide. He heard the voice behind him again.

"Fine. Don't listen to me but when you of you fall and break your neck don't come crying to me." She huffed and walked to the other side of the bench and plopped down. Sam looked at her out of the corner of his eye and recognized her immediately. Her name was Erin and she sat down next to him in 4th period anatomy. His family had only moved into town about a month ago but the town was small and he knew a few things about her. She was average, outspoken, not very popular but stuck with her click and above all else she hated anatomy. Not wanting to be rude her looked at her full on and nodded with a shy 'hey'.

She perked her head up from where she was digging in a large bag and looked at him under scrutiny for a moment before realization struck her.

"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" She said smiling. She had immediately been taken by the new boy when she found him occupying the usually empty desk next to hers. To be honest in the small town he stuck out like a sore thumb. All new kids did, especially Sam Winchester. He wasn't interested in making friends or fitting in. He did his time at school, keeping to himself and ran home right after school. He was a mystery and she wanted to know more.

"I've got to write this essay for Mr. Kline's class. It's boring me to death." He looked up at Lily and she was still playing in the sand.

"Oh. I already finished mine. Actually that's a lie. I basically paraphrased my brother's essay from 2 years ago. I hope Mr. Kline doesn't notice. I tried reading the book but I kept falling asleep so I cheated instead." She shrugged her shoulders in an 'oh well' fashion and pulled a tube of rice cakes out of the bag.

"You guys want a snack?" She yelled at the two boys that were now throwing wood chips at one another. Once they heard the word snacks they both threw their handfuls of wood chips behind them, they hit a middle aged woman who was standing only a few feet away. The woman shot Erin a disapproving glare but it went unnoticed as both boys stopped right in front of them with hands out greedily. She gave them both one and they stood there eating them ravenously. Making trouble obviously worked up their appetites.

"You want one?" She asked with half of one clenched between her teeth.

"No thanks." He looked up and noticed that Lily was gone. His heart stopped. He shot up out of his seat and took one step forward before noticing that Lily was now standing at Erins other knee. Erin hadn't noticed because she was staring at Sam. He mumbled an apology and sat back down. Lily reached out a hand and tapped Erins leg.

"Peas." She asked with a bright smile. Erin said 'awww' and took in the little girl. She was much shorter than her brothers who were standing next to her. She had curly blonde hair which was held in high tight pig tails. She was wearing her favorite pink sundress which had white lacy along the edges, it was too dressy for the park but Lily was in a faze and wouldn't wear anything else. On her feet were converse sneakers that her Uncle Dean had bought for her. When she smiled she had a full mouth of teeth, the front two had a slight gap. Her green eyes were wide.

"Hi there. Do you want one?" Erin asked in a sweet voice.

"Peas." She held her small hand out. Erin bit her lip and looked around.

"Ok. I just want to ask your mommy if you can have one." She kept looking and Sam piped up.

"It's ok. She can have one." Sam took the rice cake from Erins hand and then a wipe out of the front pocket of his back pack and cleaned Lilys hands and face. He gave the rice cake to his daughter and threw the wipe into the trash can that was only a few feet away. He was trying to teach her not to take food from strangers no matter how much Dean encouraged it.

"Oh ok. I thought you were an only child." Sam had never mentioned his daughter to anyone at school, at any school for that matter. He wasn't ashamed of her but with their lives it was easier to keep as many secrets that they could. He opened his mouth to explain the situation with honesty but was interrupted by Lily.

"Da da, I sit?" She had her hands reached out with one hand still clutched around the ride cake and he picked her up and sat her on his lap. Erin was trying not to stare at the pair, his cheeks were flush with embarrassment; her brothers took another rice cake each and ran off. She was looking back and forth from Sam to his daughter seeing the resemblance. Sam had a crooked grin on his face.

"Erin this is my daughter Lily. Lily can you say hi to my friend Erin?" The little girl tilted her head and looked up at Erin. She smiled and waved her rice cake with a shy 'hi'.

"Hi Lily. It's nice to meet you." She looked up at Sam. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"I try to keep it to myself. I usually pass her off as my sister or my niece, less questions that way but it's harder now that she's talking." He tightened his daughters pigtails and brushed away a few pieces of hair that had fallen in her face.

"How old is she?" Erin didn't want it to seem like she was prying but this was the last thing she expected from the shy new boy in school.

"She's 18 months." Sam knew that a mental calculation was going on. "My girlfriend got pregnant when we were 15 and here we are a year and a half later." Sam was nervous about her reaction. What would she think? He was worried but it was time that he told someone. It was time he opened up to the world, Showed everyone his true colors.

"She's beautiful."

"Thank you." Both Sam and Erin laughed when Lily piped up. Sam had been teaching her manners.

"Wow. I'm surprised. I would have never guessed." Erin always thought of Sam as the shy, sweet innocent type.

"Yeah. She was very unexpected." Lily climbed down from her fathers lap and went back to the sand.

"Does she live with you full time?" If Sam had just moved to town then his daughter must have moved with him.

"Yeah, her mom isn't around. We live with my dad and brother."

"Do you mind if I ask what happened to her mother?"

"No, it's ok. She couldn't handle the responsibility. Wasn't ready, too young, no support. Blah blah blah." Sam smiled and rolled his eyes. "I don't blame her for making that decision because it's really hard. If it weren't for my brother I don't know that I wouldn't have made that same decision. Looking back at it I couldn't imagine my life without her." Erin pondered that for a moment.

"How the hell do you do it? I have to watch my brothers after school until my parents get home from work and they drive me freakin crazy. I couldn't imagine doing it full time."

"It's not easy. I really meant it when I said that I would be lost without my brother. Dean watches her while I'm at school and he taught me how to take care of her. I'd never even changed a diaper before she came along. But when you don't have a choice you make it work." Erin looked at him but he was watching his daughter carefully as she walked towards him and stopped at his feet.

"Dada, babu?" She asked. Erin didn't know what she wanted but Sam seemed to understand. He pulled a bottle of bubbles out of his backpack and opened it. He placed the bottle on the ground and handed her the wand. She blew into it but no bubbles appeared, probably because she spit more than blew.

"This might sound weird but you're the first person that I've told, that I have a kid. Like ever." Erin looked at him curiously, how had he kept this a secret?

"I'm not embarrassed or anything I just never stay in one place long enough to get to know people. It's hard to let people in on that." Erin could only imagine.

"I'll bet." She didn't even know what to say. She had to ask the one question that was burning her mind.

"Do you regret it?" Sam looked at her confused. "Don't look at me like that. You know what I mean."

"Not at all." She looked at him doubtingly. "No really, I couldn't care less about missing out on prom or keg parties and football games. I've got the best thing in the world waiting for me when I get home from school every day." Sam saw the car pull up at the curb across the street and started putting his things together. He re-capped the bubbles and slipped it into his backpack. He picked up Lily and said goodbye to Erin. As he walked away one thing hit him and he stopped and turned back to his school mate.

"Erin." She turned. "There's one thing I regret." She quirked an eyebrow. "Sometimes I wish I was older when I had her. I can't give her all the things that I'd like. If I were older I probably could." He shrugged.

"See you at school." When he turned to walk away Lily waved over her fathers shoulder.

AN: I love reviews......I'm just putting that out there :)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters.

Tattle-tale:

Dean was sitting in the corner on the 'time out chair' when Sam came home. Lily was sitting across from him with the 'Time out egg timer' in her hand. She yelled out a greeting to her father when she heard the door but didn't move. Sam made his way into the kitchen where they were sitting.

"What's going on in here?" Sam said with a raised eyebrow stopping in front of the pair.

"Uncle De is in time out." She said while sitting across from him to make sure he didn't get up.

"Why is uncle Dean in time out?" Dean rolled his eyes.

"You wanna know why I'm in time out? Because your kid is a brat. Just like you." He had his chin rested in his hands as he grumbled. Lily piped up.

"No talkin. You gets more minutes." She said turning the egg time back a few notches without really being able to keep track. They both looked at her, when she talked or yelled in time out then the timer got reset and she had to sit longer. Obviously she caught onto this and used it to her advantage. Paybacks a bitch.

"Dean? You do realize that you're in charge right? You don't have to listen to her." Lily pulled on her fathers sleeve.

"Yes." She informed nodding dramatically. "He said a bad word. He gottsa time out." Sam grinned at his brother.

"Oh really? What did he say?" Dean rolled his eyes. The two drama queens in the Winchester house played off of each other very well.

"No, is bad. I not aposta say." Dean huffed and Sam glanced with a raised eyebrow.

"What was it?"

"I'm not telling you. She said if I sat in time out she wouldn't tell on me. She's a little liar."

"I not a liar." She huffed.

"Oh yes you are." He stood from the time out chair and crossed his arms across his chest.

"No, I not." Her face contorted into a scowl and Dean didn't know which was scarier. How verbally advanced she was or how she could cut a man down at the knees with that glare.

"Ok, ok, you two. Break it up. Lily- no more time outs for grown ups. Dean- try to act like a grown up." Lily shrugged in defeat and sat down to play with the timer again. Sam looked at his brother and shook his head.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Dean-"

"Don't worry. She won't repeat it."

"Daddy, he say-" Deans hand flew to cover her mouth.

"He say nothing, daddy. Go start dinner." Dean carried Lily out of the room with her mouth still covered.

"You two are going to be the death of me." Sam said opening the fridge.

Temper Tantrum:

Dean had dropped father and daughter at the grocery store to pick up a few items for dinner while he went to the shop to pick up his paycheck. Unfortunately because Dean was making dinner that meant Sam had to do the grocery shopping. Normally he didn't mind a quick run into the store but Dean thought it was too risky bringing Lily into the shop so she tagged along at the store. Nothing, however, was done quickly with a 2 year old tagging along.

Sam picked up the last item on the short list and made his way to the front of the store. The fastest way to do so was walking through the candy aisle directly to the registers. He didn't realize how bad that idea was until it was too late.

Lily walked from his side and picked something that she wanted. The largest bag of skittles that the store had. It was almost as big as she was.

"I want this one." She said trying to hand it to her daddy. It was that moment that Sam knew this would end badly.

"No, lil. We just came here for dinner. Not snacks." She shook her head rapidly at him.

"No, for candy." She said in her high pitched voice trying to hand him the bag again.

"No, that has to stay here. We aren't buying that." Sam was surprised she was being so adamant about the candy. They didn't allow her to eat candy.

"Yes! For me!" She said with her voice slightly raising. Sam tried not to huff. She was about to lose it.

"No, were not getting it and that's that. Please put it back, we have to go. Uncle Dean is waiting for us in the car." Her little body flailed side to side and a throaty whine escaped from her mouth. Sam began to panic; sure she'd had temper tantrums before. What 2 year old didn't? But never before in a public place. Sam felt the other shoppers in the aisle looking at him. The whining only lasted a minute before she yelled. "No daddy! I don't like you anymore!" She screamed and sat on the floor hard. Sam took a few calming breaths and tried not to think about all of the people staring at them.

"You can scream all you want but you're not getting it. You know you're not allowed to eat candy now lets go home and you can sit in time out." Sam said the words tightly and turned without giving her a chance to respond. He began walking to the front of the store and kept walking. He could hear Lily whining behind him but ignored it. Finally he heard her little feet run to catch up with him.

As he approached the register he placed his items on the conveyor belt and waiting while he was rung up. He glanced down at her and she was still sniffling, a few stray tears were settled on her cheeks.

"You okay now?" She nodded and reached her hands up to him. He placed her on his hip and she tucked her face into the hair at the base of his neck.

"I's sorry. Don leave me." He rubbed her back. She didn't realize it now but he would never leave her behind. After he paid he carried Lily and the groceries out of the door and he was approached by another shopper. The woman was middle aged and had a cart full of groceries.

"Honey, you handled that really well." Sam looked up in surprise, she was talking to him.

"Uh, thanks. She's never don't that in a public place before. I was mortified." The older woman laughed and beeped the alarm on her car.

"It always is. That's the reason I don't take my 2 to the store anymore. Last time they were here they pitched a fit over ice cream and knocked down a 6 foot tall toilet paper display. It went everywhere. I was so embarrassed I didn't come back for 4 months. I was terrified I would be the toilet paper lady with the two brats." Sam knew exactly how embarrassing that must have been because the next store was 18 miles away. He was surprised but appreciated the story, it didn't make him feel so guilty about threatening to leave Lily. He heard the honk of the Impala so he said good bye to the woman. When he walked to the car he put the groceries in the trunk and strapped Lily into her car seat and sat next to Dean.

"What took you so long?" He said impatiently.

Sam smirked. "Long line." He would never tell Dean about this.

Biting:

John was sitting at the kitchen table pouring himself into researching his next job. He heard his two sons having a quiet argument just outside the door. He put his pen down and listened in.

'You do it.' 'No, you do it.' 'Just ask him' 'Why can't you?' John rolled his eyes at their antics.

"Boys! Get in here." Sam was the first to enter, it looked as if he was shoved through the door way. The way Dean was grinning behind him confirmed this theory.

"Yeah Dad?" Sam said.

"What do you want?" They both looked at each other.

"What makes you think we want something?" Sam replied, trying to act cool.

"You're standing outside the door whispering like little girls. I could have sworn I had sons." He said rolling his eyes. What did they think he is dense? He is their father after all.

"Well, ok. There's this thing." He was wringing his hands together nervously, something Lily had picked up from him. "Well, there's this movie we wanted to go see but it would probably give Lily nightmares, I don't want her to go but it's gunna be out of the theater soon. We were wondering if you would watch her but you're busy so yeah. Thanks." He turned on his heels and tried walking back through the door. Dean grabbed his collar and he lurched back in. John surprised them. "What times does this movie start?" Dean almost didn't believe it.

"I figure the best showing would be 2. I could put her down for her nap and then go straight there and straight home and we could be back by 4:30. So it wouldn't be that long and she would sleep most of the time so you could work." John was a little unnerved by how tense Sam was talking to him. Did he really make his kids fear asking a favor?

"Sure. I can do that. Why don't you guys take a little longer and get some grub?" John knew that they worked so hard to keep everything together and on the rare occasion her was home he liked to relax or research. They deserved a break. They deserved a chance to be normal teenagers for a day.

"Really? You would babysit?" Sam said tilting his head. He looked like a kitten with his crunched up face. John nodded. "You would have to make her dinner." John nodded again. "She needs a bath tonight too." John nodded again. "And you-" John cut him off.

"Do you want to go or not? It sounds like your giving me excuses to say no." Sam frowned but realized that was exactly what he was doing. He wanted John to say no, he wanted to stay home with her. He really didn't mind that he had no friends, only talked to his brother and daughter. He hadn't been out as a normal teenager in so long he forgot how to do it. He forgot how to act his age and go a few hours without thinking about diapers and nap time. Sam turned to Dean.

"Maybe we shouldn't go. Something could happen." It wasn't that he didn't trust his dad, he just wasn't really sure if it would go smoothly. Lily was usually with him or Dean. John was around as often as he could be but Lily wasn't as familiar with him.

"Dude, shut up. Were going. Go put the kid to sleep and get out the door." Sam bit his lip unsure and Dean pushed him out the door.

"Thanks Dad. I don't think he realizes how much he needs this." John and Dean shared a knowing look. Sam returned a few minutes later with Lily down for her nap. Sam and Dean were leaving but Sam was yelling out directions to John until Dean shoved him in the car and shut the door. John couldn't help but laugh.

At 3:30 John went to get Lily up as instructed. She was still asleep but John knew she had to get up or she would never go to bed tonight. He was looking forward to a nice afternoon with his granddaughter but didn't expect her to be so grouchy.

As she turned over in his arms she scowled at him. "Daddy?" She asked.

"No, daddy went out for a little while. He'll be home later." He walked her into the kitchen and sat her down with a cup and some cut up apples. He expected her to eat quietly. Instead she slid her cup across the table. "No. I wan my sippy." John had given her a regular cup because that's what Sam and Dead did. Obviously she wanted her sippy cup. He poured her milk into a sippy cup and put it back in front of her.

John was concerned about the frown on her face and the set of her elbows on the table but chose to ignore it. This time when he turned his back she flung out her tiny arm and the apples went flying all over the kitchen table and floor. John looked at her and she was running her fingers through her pig tails seemingly unconcerned that she just tossed food around the kitchen.

"Do you do this for your daddy? If you do I understand why he needed a break. You don't throw food in my kitchen. Do it again and I'll put you over my knee." John never hit his kids when they were growing up. Sure he spanked their butts when they misbehaved but he never considered that light tap a 'hit'. Even that only happened a few times. The threat usually worked.

"I want daddy." She sulked. This time she purposely dropped her sippy cup off of the booster seat she was sitting it, it crashed to the floor without spilling.

"Daddy isn't here. You're stuck with me." He put her down on the floor. Snack time was over. If she couldn't eat like a big girl then she got no snack.

"Papa, where uncle De?" She tried.

"He's gone too." She sulked and ran to the living room. John gave her a few minutes too cool off and went to join her. He moved and sat next to her. He hadn't expected her to still be upset. He learned the hard way when he felt her teeth clamp down on his hand with a vice like grip. John had been cut, bruised and concussed while hunting but that bite hurt like a bitch. He couldn't believe he just got bit. Bit by a 2 year old.

Sam and Dean returned shortly. They went to the movie but opted to bring pizza home for dinner instead of staying out. When they got inside Lily ran to the front door to greet them. She launched into Sams arms like he'd been gone forever.

"I sorry." She said as they all walked into the kitchen.

John was sitting back at the table still pouring over his research and glared at them all when they walked in.

"Hey dad, how'd it go?"

"Your kid is a demon." He gruffed without looking up.

"What happened?!" Sam exclaimed as he sat Lily down in her booster and began cutting up a piece of pizza for her. She was sitting perfectly in her chair smiling up at him, relieved he was home.

"She bit me." He said glaring across the table at the child. Sam looked at him with disbelief.

"She what!?" Dean and Sam shouted together.

"She BIT me." John held out his hand for proof. There were two very small distinct rows of teeth imprinted onto his hand, blood was crusted around the edges.

"She's never bit anyone before. I can't believe she did that. Lily biting is not okay."

"I sorry daddy, I's not bitin no more." She looked at John and he nodded in agreement. "Papa hit me." She said proudly. As if that were conviction enough for her to never bite again. All the attention turned back to John while the small family sat around the table eating. John dropped food out of his mouth when he looked up.

"Did you hit her?" Sam glared across the table while taking in his daughter, looking for any signs.

"Oh relax. I just smacked her hand. It wasn't even hard. She didn't even cry." He stuffed his mouth full of pizza.

"Are you ok?" Sam said with her hand in his looking for any marks.

"Yes, papa look at me scary. No more bitin. He scary like a monster." She had pizza sauce all over her hands and face, some even matted in her eyebrows and hair and she was calling John 'the ghost terminator' Winchester a monster. Sam shook his head. His family didn't even understand the meaning of normal. They were all a bunch of freaks. He didn't even have any words; he just sat back and ate his dinner. If you can't beat 'em you may as well join them.

AN: I've had a really terrible week but reviews would make me happy again!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 8:

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters.

AN: I'm so sorry, I feel horrible that it's been so long since the last update. I haven't been able to write a word in 3 months and then yesterday I wrote two chapters in one day….Hopefully it lasts!

Dean walked in the door of their small rental apartment and Lily came running to him and hid behind his legs. From the front door he could hear Sam grunting in his and Lilys bedroom before a tennis shoe thrown from the bedroom into the hallway landing a few feet from Dean. 'What the hell?' he thought. Lily pulled on his jeans and Dean turned to face her.

"What's goin on in there?" He said picking her up and placing him on his hip. Lily's eyes went wide and she glanced towards the door to the bedroom.

"Daddy's crazy." She said making a circle with her index finger near her ear. Dean tossed his keys on the table and walked towards the bedroom. He had to duck as a pair of jeans went flying towards the door and nearly nailed him in the face. He looked at Lily and raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you stay out here?" She shrugged and he put her down and went towards the TV.

Carefully Dean leaned into the door to see Sam tearing through a large suitcase, throwing its contents in every direction. The room was a disaster. Cloths were everywhere, a pair of boxers was hanging from the lamp, even Lily's stuff was tossed carelessly on the floor.

Dean tried getting his little brothers attention by calling his name. After 3 tries he grabbed Sams shoulder and Sam jumped to attention, panting from exertion.

"Shit Dean! You scared the crap out of me! What the hell?" Sam ripped away from his big brother and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing. What are you doing in here?" He said picking up a tiny discarded dress out of the mess and throwing it towards his little brother.

"Unpacking. What does it look like?" Sam rolled his eyes and picked up the duffel from the floor and set it on his departed place on the bed to finish 'unpacking'.

"Ok, let's forget about the mess you just made for a second and get straight to the point. Why exactly are you unpacking?" Dean shrugged out of his leather coat and dropped it next to his brother. He had a feeling he knew what this was about but wanted to hear it from Sam.

"Simple. I'm not going." Sam was finally calmed down and actually folding cloths from this suitcase and putting them back in their drawers.

"Yes, actually you are going." Dean said with a roll of his eyes. Sam could be so dramatic.

"No, we're both staying here. Actually, I don't even care if we stay here but we're not going there."

"And why is that?"

"Because it was a stupid idea. What the hell was I thinking?" He said dropping back onto the mattress and looking at the ceiling, newly folded cloths falling onto the floor in the process.

"You were thinking how badly you wanted to go to college. How you want a better life for Lily. That you both need out of this life before something bad happens."

"No, I was being stupid and selfish."

"Yeah, well, you're always like that. We're used to it." Dean sat on the bed next to his brothers feet.

"Stop fucking around Dean. I'm serious!" he said kicking his socked feet at his big brother. "How am I supposed to do this? I can't go to school and watch Lily at the same time, I have no money so I'll have to get a job and that just means even more time away from her and I'll fall behind in my classes and lose my scholarship and get kicked out of school. This was the worst idea I've ever had." He said hanging his head in his hands.

"Look Sam, nobody said it was gunna be easy but think about it you have a free apartment sponsored by the school, a meal plan for you and Lily and free classes. Not to mention the day care at the school is included in the scholarship." Dean blushed and continued "I wanted to surprise you but me and dad have been saving up some money for you to take, just so you don't have to worry so much about getting a job. It should keep you from having to get a job for at least your first semester." Sam looked up sharply. He'd had no idea. "So guess what. You're going to school whether you like it or not!" Sam was now in tears.

"I can't Dean. I'm sorry but I can't."

"And why is that Sam?"

"Because….Uh…I…"

"Tut tu tu today junior." Dean said in his best Adam Sandler voice.

"Because I can't do it without you!" He screamed and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Dean sighed, "Yes, you can Sammy."

**************

After their little spat Dean knew that Sam needed to calm down. He heard Sam tell Lily that they were going to the park so he waited in the bedroom until the door shut behind them. He stood and surveyed the mess for a few minutes before bending down to start cleaning up. Instead of putting the cloths away like Sam had intended to do he started packing them back into the duffel bags that Sam had been dumping. Sam was going to college. End of story.

Two hours later Sam came back into the house sufficiently calmed down. He first noticed that the bags that he had torn apart were neatly packed and sitting by the front door. He bit his lip in shame, he shouldn't have freaked out the way he did. Dean shouldn't have to clean up his messes he thought. When he turned the corner Dean was at the stove with his back towards him. Before he could open his mouth Dean spoke.

"Dinner won't be ready for about 20 minutes so why don't you give Lily her bath now and then we can eat?" Sam wanted to say something but instead lead Lily towards the bathroom. After washing her body and hair Sam sat on the toilet as Lily splashed in the bathtub, she picked up a rubber ducky and made it 'swim' across the surface of the water while saying daddy look, daddy look. Sam moved to the floor and unplugged the drain and let Lily play until the water was gone. While Sam was dressing her into her pajamas for the night she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and he nuzzled his face into her hair enjoying the scent of baby on her skin. When he pulled her hair he looked in her face and asked her "What do you think about you and me going to College?" She looked back at him with a tilt of the head.

"Where's college?" She asked trying to run her brush through her own hair. Her golden blonde hair tangled in its bristles.

"It's in California." She had no idea where that was but nodded as Sam moved her into his lap. He continued. "It's like a really big school for me and while I'm there you can go to daycare, which is like a small school for little kids." He took over brushing the knots out of her hair. "You can play with kids your own age."

"I go wif Uncle De?" She said turning from her seat on her Daddys lap to glance up at his face.

"No, kiddo. Its just gunna be you and me. Uncle De and Papa can't come with us."

"Can we see dem?" She leaned down to pick an invisible piece of lint from between her toes. Sam kissed her feet before putting on clean socks.

"Yeah, not everyday but they can come and visit us whenever they want and we can talk to them on the phone everyday." Lily seemed ok with that. Sam heard Dean yell that dinner was ready. Sam walked Lily into the kitchen where Dean was already sitting over a plate of chicken and rice, he put his daughter into her highchair and took the seat next to her.

Sam dared to glance at his brother. He was content eating and making faces at his niece at the other end of the table.

"I'm sorry for being a brat. We're still gunna go." Dean seemed bored with Sams apology.

"Good, cause you were going whether you liked it or not." Dean dropped his fork down on his plate. "Seriously Sam, I know you're nervous about this but don't worry. You can handle this, me and dad aren't gunna be that far, if you need us we can be there in a day." Sam bit his lip and nodded.

"I know. Its gunna be ok. Right kiddo?" He said glancing at Lily who had rice stuck to her face.

"Yes, we goin to college." She gave them both a big gap toothed smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: (The real one)

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters.

As soon as Dean answered the phone he knew he was going to regret it. His boss was calling on his day off to ask him to come in.

"Listen Bob, normally I would but I can't today. I've gotta watch the kid." Dean was busy babysitting Lily for the day while Sam was at school.

"Come on Dean, I've got a diner full of customers and no waiters. I really need you." Dean knew it had to be bad if Bob had resorted to groveling. That never happened.

"I'd really like to help but I can't. I've got the baby today. There is nobody else to watch her." Bob knew that Dean watched his niece during the day and normally kept to a night schedule but it was an emergency.

"Look kid, I need you. I'll pay you overtime." He relented.

Silence.

"What kind of over time are we talking?" Dean was curious.

"Time and a half plus tips." Damn that hurt. They really needed the money.

"Look Bob, my only option is to bring her in with me. What am I supposed to do with her?" Lily was currently eating an early lunch then she normally took a nap.

"Bring her, I don't care. Just get your ass here now." With that the phone was hung up. Dean thought for a minute then began packing a diaper bag.

After a few minutes Dean and Lily left the house to go to work. Dean left a note for Sam to walk to the diner after he got home from school to pick up Lily. He would be pissed but they really needed the extra money.

Once they arrived at the diner Bob was less than thrilled, the place was packed and they hadn't even hit the lunch rush yet. Aside from Connie, Bob's wife, he would be the only server. He set up a play pen for Lily just out of the way and to the side of the counter while she took a nap. Good thing she could sleep through a hurricane.

An hour and a half into his shift he looked over at Lily and smiled when he saw her standing in her play pen, blond hair mused, big green eyes blinking owlishly at her new surroundings. He excused himself from the couple that he was serving and went to pick her up.

"Hi pretty girl. How was your nap?" She tucked her head into his shoulder and hid her still sleepy face. He picked up her diaper bag and shouted to Bob, who was manning the grill, that he would be right back. Unfortunately there was no baby changing station in the mens room so he brought her outside to the car to change her diaper and put on shirt that wasn't drooled on. Now that she was more awake she smiled back up at him and laughed when he tickled her sides. Once they made it back inside Bob was already barking orders at him to get his ass back to work. So he dropped Lily back into her play pen with a few toys, washed his hands and went to take an order from a set of middle aged business men that must have sat when he was outside.

It only took about an hour for Lily to start fussing in her crib. She was standing against the edge crying for him, Connie was doing her best to calm her down but without much experience from women in her life Lily just got more anxious for Dean. After delivering food to the table furthest from Lily he came back and lifted her into his arms.

"What's wrong princess?" He felt her diaper which was still clean and knew she wasn't hungry. He tried to get her attention with a few toys from her crib but she kept pushing them away from her with her hands. She just wanted to be in his arms. He bounced her around for a few minutes before Bob called him over when the next order was up. As he bent over to put Lily back into her crib she began to scream again, Bob called for him again as Dean tried to console his niece. Torn between the baby and his boss he decided to just take Lily with him. He balanced Lily on his hip and handled two plates onto his hands and went to deliver the food to an attractive pair of young girls about his age. He gently placed their plates correctly as the girls ooogled over the baby.

"Oh my gosh, she is so adorable. How old is she?" The blonde cooed as she waved at Lily who smiled back.

"Awwww. She has her daddy's eyes." The brunette said making puppy eyes at Lily in his arms.

"Oh, thanks. She's 10 months. But I'm actually her uncle. She's just spending the day with me." He replied sending a smile of his own. He wasn't gunna be showed up by his brothers kid. He's the cute one in the family.

"Oh, you're so good with her." They continued. "She's so sweet." As Lily smiled and waved to them from her perch on Deans hip.

"Yeah, she's great; probably the easiest baby in the world. Happy go lucky, like me, I guess." He said bending down to kiss her forehead. The girls swooned.

"So, do you babysit a lot?" The brunette asked. Dean vaguely heard Bob yelling that his next tables order was ready.

"I try to help out whenever I can. My brother is young so I watch her while he's in school. Really whenever he needs me too."

"Your girlfriend doesn't mind?" The blonde boldly asked while letting Lily take her hand in her own.

"No." He nodded his head towards his beautiful niece. "She's the only girl in my life right now." He winked then added. "I should go grab those orders. I'll be back in a few to check on you." Bob rolled his eyes when Dean approached the window to grab his next orders.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. Using that baby like that." Dean just laughed and took his next orders to an elder couple in the corner. The older woman positively swooned at the green eyes and blonde hair approaching.

School dismissal was 3pm and that sent another rush into the diner, kids wanting milkshakes and ice cream. So Dean was still busy serving at 4 pm when Sam finally wandered into the diner. He stopped in the doorway when he saw his brother chatting with a middle aged woman and leaving chocolate milkshakes in front of her two kids. Dean had Lily strapped with her back to his chest in her child carrier.

Sam couldn't believe the sight. Dean usually refused to wear the carrier even though it was really convenient. He said it was 'not his style'. But pushing a stroller was so much better? Sam moved towards the counter and said hello to Bob and Connie and waited for his brother. Lily kicked her converse adorned feet and called 'dada' as her and Dean approached Sam. Sam leaned down and kissed his daughters face and tried to pull her from the carrier but Dean quickly stopped him.

"Leave her, we're working. Do your homework or something. We're good." Dean shoved Sams hands away from him and pushed him into a stood at the counter.

"Dude, do I even want to know what's going on?" He asked as he pulled his books out of his back pack and a child's plastic key ring was stuck in between his math and history books. He gave them to Lily who began shaking them like mad.

"No, not really." Dean poured Sam a soda from the fountain machine and put it in front of him. "But check this out." The older Winchester pulled a wad of cash out of the front pocket of his apron, small pieces of paper were tucked in between the bills. Sam took a few to see what they were.

"Dude. Are you exploiting my kid for tips and phone numbers?" Sam looked at Dean incredulously and his big brother was grinning. "I can't believe you. How much did you make?" Dean stuffed the numbers and money back into his pocket as his next order came through the window.

"A lot. I'm bringing her to work every day. We're making a killing." As Dean and Lily went to deliver their next order Dean stopped by Sam.

"How do you feel about having more kids?" Sam just sat back and watched as his brother and daughter in action. He laughed at their antics and whispered to himself 'one day.'

AN2: I want to take a moment to thank all of my readers, especially those of you that take the time to send a review. I greatly appreciate it! All of your wonderful feedback and support keeps me inspired.


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